Pune: The district and sessions court on Thursday rejected the provisional bail plea of Dhananjay Desai, leader of the Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS), and the prime accused in the 2014 murder of IT professional Mohsin Shaikh.
Mr. Desai’s bail pleas have been rejected thrice in the past: twice in the Pune sessions court and once in the Bombay High Court.
The HRS leader had sought a provisional bail of four weeks on medical grounds, alleging that he is in poor health and is not getting adequate treatment in the Yerwada jail.
Mr. Shaikh’s father, Mohammed Sadiq Shaikh, commended district government pleader Ujjwala Pawar for her efficiency in handling the case.
Through Ms. Pawar’s arguments which concluded on Wednesday, Ms. Pawar had pointed that there was ample proof of Mr. Desai’s role in Mr. Shaikh’s murder on June 2, 2014, and his mala fide intents were obvious in the inflammatory speech in which he allegedly incited HRS activists to go on the rampage in Hadapsar.
Ms. Pawar has taken over as prosecutor following delays in the appointment of advocate Rohini Salian. The Shaikh family had sought Ms. Salian’s appointment after noted lawyer Ujjwal Nikam opted out as the special public prosecutor in June.
Incidentally, Mr. Desai voluntarily withdrew his bail plea in the Bombay High Court in June, and applied for provisional bail in the Pune sessions court.
“We congratulate Ms. Pawar for her efforts in getting the court to quash Mr. Desai’s bail plea. We strongly condemn the delaying tactics by the accused by moving courts on bail pleas,” said activist Anjum Inamdar, president of the Rashtrapremi Kruti Samiti, an outfit which had opposed Mr. Nikam’s appointment on grounds of his alleged ‘affinity’ with right-wing Hindu outfits.
Mr. Shaikh was beaten to death allegedly by HRS activists in Hadapsar while returning home after his prayers. Derogatory pictures of King Shivaji and late Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Facebook had sparked communal tensions and riots across the city.
In August that year, the Pune police had filed a 650-page charge sheet naming 23 people, including Mr. Desai. However, till date, 17 have been released on bail.
